Carlos Beruff says he knew “zero” about health care

U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff touts his time as Chair of Gov. Rick Scott‘s Kabuki theater-style Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding as relevant experience to dealing with the Affordable Care Act and other complicated health care issues in Congress.

But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, just earlier this year Beruff said he knows “zero” about health care, even after his tenure on the panel.

The millionaire homebuilder who gave some $121,000 to Scott’s re-election campaign and state Republicans was tapped to lead the committee nonetheless, an arrangement that raised eyebrows.

The Charlotte Sun’s editorial board, for instance, said Beruff’s experience in health care was “nonexistent,” while the Tampa Bay Times opined the body’s composition was “ridiculous” for how replete it was with political allies with no knowledge of the subject.

Evidently, Beruff once agreed with those assessments.

“I served as Chairman of the Florida Healthcare Commission for eight months. And when I was put on that task force … obviously I’m a homebuilder what do I know about health care? Zero,” Beruff told members of the Nokomis Osprey Venice Area Republican Club in March.

“I called up Governor Scott and I said, ‘Governor, I know I don’t know anything about this … [W]e were immediately tagged in the media as loyalists, Governor’s cronies, like we didn’t have our own mind,” said Beruff, in remarks which are archived online.

But apparently he has since changed his tone, citing the experience as proof of he has what it takes to replace Obamacare if repealed by a GOP President and Congress.

Beruff said to a questioner, “I think the private sector has to play a big part” in coming up with a viable alternative to the ACA, flashing his newfound expertise.

“I recently finished as the chairman of the health care commission in Florida and I brought in some really great speakers from across the country, and political affiliation had nothing to do with it, but they all said 35 to 50 percent waste in the health care delivery system,” Beruff continued.

Perhaps he would “bring in some really great speakers” to determine where he stands on health care issues as a U.S. Senator?